The Washington Capitals face the Arizona Coyotes with both teams looking to improve from difficult seasons. The Capitals have a 24-17-6 record and with three losses in their last four games are in the middle of the Metropolitan Division. The Coyotes have a 14-25-5 record and with only one win in their last 10 games have fallen to the bottom of the Central Division. Both teams look to improve in their divisions with the season in full swing and the upcoming game looks to be a good one as a result.
The Capitals are having a promising season with their offense stepping up and scoring 3.19 goals per game. Alexander Ovechkin, Evgeny Kuznetsov, and Dylan Strome have scored 45 goals and 76 assists to lead the top two lines but the rest of the offense has also stepped up. Conor Sheary, Anthony Mantha, and Marcus Johansson have combined for 31 goals and 42 assists while defensemen Erik Gustafsson and Nick Jensen have added eight goals and 37 assists from the point to help open up the offense.
The offense has been great but the defense has carried the Capitals, allowing only 2.79 goals per game. Gustafsson and Jensen have combined for 5.3 defensive point shares and 130 blocked shots while Dmitry Orlov and Trevor van Riemsdyk have combined for 4.6 defensive point shares to add depth to the unit. In addition, goaltender Darcy Kuemper has been great with a .917 save percentage and a 2.55 goals-again st average on 856 shots.